Envelope-feeding-mechanism



G. CHISHOLM.

ENVELOPE FEEDING MECHANI SM.-

APPLICATION FILED FEB.4,1920- I 2 SHEETS-SHEET L Reissu'ed July 25, 1922C. CHISHOLM.

ENVELOPE FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 4, 1920.

Reissueil July 25,1922. 7 15,419.-

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2'- UNITED STATES OF OHIO.

Original No. 1,285,623,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLIFTON CHIsHoLM, a citizen of the UnitedStates,residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, haveinvented. a certain new and useful Improvement in Envelope-Feeda full,clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to means for automatically feeding unsealedenvelopes from a supply thereof. The invention may be utilized inconjunction with any suitable machine to act on the fed envelopes. As anillustration of such supplemental machine, I may cite an addressprinting machine, in which address plates are automatically brought intoprinting relation with envelopes which the mechanism of the presentinvention automatically withdraws from a supply and carries intopresentation to the plates.

The general object of the invention is to desired, which will rapidlyand certainly withdraw the envelopes one at a time and carry themthrough the machine as stated. Another object is to render thismecnanism adjustable to such an extent as is'necessary to enable its usein connection with envelopes of various sizes. I

Another object of the invention is to provide such envelope feedingmechanism as will withdraw from the envelope supply only such envelopesas are so placed therein that when withdrawn they will be properlyvelope feeding mechanism is employed opes are placed in the envelopemagazine in one way or another, envelopes which are misplaced thereinwill frequently be spoiled by having the addresses printed thereon atthe wrong. place or direction before the operator notices that theenvelopes have been misplaced.

The invention comprises the combination of cooperatlng mechanlsms foraccomplishing Mechanism, of which the following is provide efficientmechanism for the purpose presented to the address plates. When en-vwhich acts regardless of whether the envel- PATENT a OFFICE.

CLIFTON CHISHOLM, or GLEVELAND, OHIO, AssIGnon, nY'MnsNnAssIGNMENTs, TOTHEAMERICAN MULTIGRAPH COMPANY, or CLEVELAND, 01110, A oonroRA'rIoNENVELOPE-FEEDING MEGHANISMJ.

Specification of Reissued Letters Patent. Reigsued July 25, 1922,

dated November 26, 1918, Serial No.,2( )2,094 filed November 15, 1917.Application for reissue filed February 4, 1920. Serial No. 356,279.

ing the above results, or some of them, without regard-to the specificcharacter of the individual mechanisms employed, it includes also theembodiment shown in the drawings and hereinafter described.

In the drawing, Fig.1 is a plan view of mechanisms in which the presentinvention is embodied; Fig. 2 'is aside elevation partly sectioned, fromthe right side of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation from theleft side of Fig. 1 of a part of said mechanism; Fig. 4: is a verticalsectional view showing one of the face cams for operating one of the,fingers which engage the envelope flap; Fig. 5 is sectional view of theclutch mechanisn for connecting or disconnecting the driving pulley;Fig. 6 is a diagram of an'electro-magnetic stop device which may beassociated with my feeding mechanism.

A stack of envelopes to be addressed is placed in a suitable magazine orholder, which as a whole is'indicated by 10. This magazine, as shown,includes a fixed vertical plate 12 which is located at a point adjacentbut preferably slightly in front of the highest part of the cylindricalplaten 50-there being between the surface of the platen and the loweredge of plate 12 a narrow slot 11 through which the envelope may pass.The-magazine also includes two rear corner members 13, preferably madeof thin metal bent to form angle bars as shown. Each corner membercarries a horizontal plate 14, which platesserve as the bottom of themagazine.

The supporting plates 14 must be large enough to support the stack ofenvelopes,

but they preferably should be of such shape that neither of them liesunder the flap e of the lowest envelope E of a stack when the envelopesare placed in the magazine with their flaps downward and pointingrearward, that is to say, with a bend e that connects the envelope andflap adjacent the front plate 12 of the magazine. The two corner members13 are respectively secured to slides 15 which are movably mounted ontransverse bars 16 rigidly secured to end pieces 17 to form a slidingframe. This frame is slidable horizontally on the main frame 19 ofthemachine toward and from the front plate 12'.

vIt will be seen that the envelope magazine described is adapted ,forlonger or shorter envelopes by moving. the slides 15 away fromtor-towardeach other It islikewise possible to adapt the magazine for wider ornarrower envelopes by moving"v the shaft of a machine of which the.described envelope handling mechanism is a part.

The shaft. 51 passes loosely through and may help to support .twonon-rotating face cams 82 which arelocated. at opposite ends of saidpla-ten. Each of these face cams is carried by a hanger 80gwhich ispartly supported by, but is movable transversely with respect to anextended frame bar 81 so as to carry these cams toward or away from. theends of the platen.

Associated with each cam is a sleeve 60 which has a tongue and grooi edriving connection with the shaft- 51. It may, therefore, movelengthwise onthat shaft, but must rotate with it; The associated camprojectsinto an annular groove in the associated sleeve, the groovebeing between the annular shoulder 61 onithe sleeve and a-nut 62 whichscrews onto said sleeve. The sleevemay, therefore, rotate in the cam;but when either is moved. lengthwise ofthe shaft the other must movewith it. An. envelope feeding lever 65 straddles veaclrof the sleeves 60and is pivoted thereon by pivot pins 66 which are diametrical withrespect to the shaft and sleeve. .As a measure of economy inconstruction one of these pins passesthrough the. sleeve into alongitudinal' groove 57 in the shaft and thereby the tongue and grooveconnection between the shaft and sleeve is produced. Each feed lever 65engages the cam flange 83 on both sides of the axis of. the shaft;wherefore, as the shaft turns the cams. will cause these levers-to rockon their pivots Each lever has at the outer end of each ofits arms athin offset finger 68. The lever arms are of such length that as theshaft is.

rotated, the. fingers will,.asthey. move across the topof their paths,engage the lower face of the lowest envelope, and will insertthem selvesbetween the lower surface of that envelope and the depending flapthereof, and come against the bend e which unites the flap and envelope.It should be explained that the cams 82 are of such shape, substantiallyas shown, that as the fingers are ascending toward the envelopes, theirrespective fingers are moved toward each other, and, therefore, intosuch. position that the fingers will pass between the under face of thelowest envelope and its flap and engage thebend,-as -stated.

Asrthe shaft 51 continues .to-turn thefiapengaged lowest envelope'will'be positively withdrawn from the magazine below the lower edge of thefront plate 12 and will be carried around with the platen cylinder, asshown in Fig. 3. The envelope will be caused to curve around this platencylinder by a curved shield elgwhichis fixed in position and follows thecurvature of the platen cylinder from the front plate 12 nearly down tothe bottom of the cylinder, which is. the pointat which the envelopeswill bebrought into printing engagement with printing plates which arebeing fed through the machine between the platen 50 and a cooperatingplaten'TO, by any suitable mechanism. An illustration of a suitableplate-feeding mechanism may be found in my Patent No. 1,285,622,'issuedNovember 26, 1918.

Before the envelope reaches the printing position the cams 82 will haveswung the. feed levers 65 on their pivots so as to move their fingersapart,- and thus cause them to release their engagement with v theenvelope. This outward movement of the descending arms of the feedlevers is obviously accompanied by a movementtoward each other of theascending arms of these levers to bring them to the described positionwhere their fingers will engage the lowest envelope then in themagazine. This, of course, assumes that fingersare placed on both endsof these 8111 610130 fQQdl Dg'lGVQIS. When they areso placed as shown,two envelopes are. withdrawn from the magazineduring each revolution ofshaft 51. If the fingers are placed only at one end of each lever onlyone envelope would be withdrawn from the magazine during each revolutionof the shaft 51.

Two spring actuated frames are pivoted to the outer face of the curvedguard plate 5 1. Theserespeetively carry the rotatable velope shallpass.at a time out of the maga- Zine. under the front. plate thereof. Toinsure against a fed envelope dragging another with it by friction, Iprovide one. (or more) stop-fingers 9,.best shownin. Fig. 3, which arelocated a short distance in front of the front plate and extend downwardtoward the platen cylinder. The lower edge of this finger is below thehorizontal plane in which next to the lowest envelope lies in themagazine. Therefore, when the feed fingers 68 engage the lowest envelopeand positively begin to withdraw it beneath the lower edge of the frontplate, the next envelope, if it should be dragged by the lowest'envelo3e and pass with it below the front plate, wlll come against the stopfinger and any further movement forward will be prevented. However,before the front edge of the lowest envelope reaches the stop finger,the front edge of this lowest envelope will have been bent downward sothat it will pass beneath the stop finger. When the next pair of feedfingers 68 come up they will pass above the flap ofthe envelope whichwas next to the lowest and was moved forward this short distance, and byengagment with its flap, will pull the front edge of this envelope downbelow the stop finger and will carry the envelope under it as abovespecified.

As the addressed envelopes pass out from under the platen cylinder 50they are pushed a between two feed rolls 30, 31, from which they aredischarged onto downwardly inclined bars 34 upon which they slide downtoward the horizontal stacking bars 90. A stacking device catches theenvelopes as they slide down these bars 34: and delivers them onto thestacking bars 90 and pushes the-m against a follower 91 which slidesupon the stacking bars.

The stacking device as shown comprises a shaft 35, which rotates inproper relation to the other rotatingparts of the machine, and carriestwo cam disks 36 each ofwhich has an envelope receiving peripheral slot37 of ample capacity. Each envelope slides down the inclined bars 34 andpasses edgewise into the two slots, which, by the rotation of the shaft35,-have reached the position to receive the envelope. The continuedrevolution of said slotted disks deposits the envelope edge downwardonto the stacking bars 90, and then the peripheryof the disks engage theenvelope and push it along the stacking bars and holds it upright untilthe instant before another envelope is similarly delivered onto thestacking bars.

The feed roll 30 is rotatably mounted on a fixed axis. The feed roll 31is mounted on a frame 32 which is hung on the shaft 51. The roll 31carries a gear 31 that meshes with an idler gear 38 mounted on frame 32,and this idler gear in turn meshes with and is drivenby a gear 51'fixedto shaft 51.

Each of the magazine corner members has pivoted to it the upper end of alink 94. which is pivoted at its lower end to another link 95, which inturn is pivoted to the hanger 80 which supports the associated cam. Thisconnection between the magazine members and cam need not be of-suchcharacter the cams and associated envelope feeding levers must becorrespondingly adjusted.

The toggle links referred to serve to remind the operator of thisnecessity and to show him when he has positioned the hopper member andcam properly with respect to one another.

The power to drive the machine may be applied through a pulley under thecontrol of a clutch. Thus, I have shown a pulley 100 which is looselymounted on shaft 51,

and adjacent this pulley is a sliding clutch sleeve 101 (see Fig. 5)having a tongue and groove connection with the shaft 51. carries jaws101 adapted to engage or disengage jaws 100 on the hub of the pulley 100to thereby make or break the driving connection between the pulley andthe shaft. This sleeve has a circumferential groove, and into thisgroove project pins 102 carried by a yoke 103 which is a part of ashifting lever 103 pivoted to a bracket 104 fixed to the machine frame.By operating this lever this clutch sleeve may be moved into engagementwith the pulley, or out of engagement with it.

if desired, a suitable stop mechanism may be provided tostop the machinein case an envelope fails to be fed. I have shown for this purposemechanism illustrated in Figs. 3 and 6, which will now be described. Theshift lever 103 is adjacent the poles 110 of an electro-magnet 112 whichis fixed to the frame work of the machine, and the lever serves as thearmature of that magnet. lVhen the magnet is energized and thereforeattracts the lever, the lever will swing in the direction to cause it towithdraw the clutch sleeve from its engagement with the pulley.Therefore, to disconnect the machine from the source of power it is onlynecessary to energize this magnet.

The circuit of the magnet 112, as shown diagrammatically in Fig. 6,includes a suitable source of current 115 connected with one terminal ofthe magnet winding. The other terminal of the magnet may be connected tothe metallic frame work of the machine. The source of current may beconnected with an insulated switch spring 116 supported by the framework ofthe machine in a position such that a metallic contact plate 50which is fixed to the rotating platen may under certain circumstancesengage with it. This contact plate is, however, fixed to the platen in aposition'such that This magazine by the feed arms, electrical contactbetween the switch and contact plate will be prevented. 7 But if theenvelopes have all been withdrawn from the magazine, or-ri-f the bottomenvelopehas been misplaced so that its flap does not liein the describedrelation to the front plate of the magazine and the platen cylinder andfeed arms, the feed arms will not withdraw an envelope from the hopper,and therefore, the contact plate and spring described will come intoelectrical contact. 'This will complete the circuit of the magnet, withthe result that the clutch operating lever will be moved in thedirection which will (:lisengage the: clutch sleeve from the pulley, andthere upon, the machine, being disconnected from the source of power,will stop.

The clutch shifting lever 103 is a part of the circuit of the magnet,being normally in contact with an insulated metal plate 105 which is aterminal of a circuit wire, the lever itself is connected with themetallic part ofthe machineframe. When the circuit is completed by theengagement of the contact plate on theplaten with the switch springreferred to, and the magnet is energi-zed', and the lever 103 moved soas to dis connect the machine from the driving pulley, this'movement ofthe lever moves it out of contact with metallic plate 105 and against aninsulating stop block 106, wherebythe' circuit of the magnet is brokenin anotherplace. Therefore the circuit will be effectively interruptedeven though the platen stops with the contact plate thereon still incontact with the switch spring.

It will be seen from the above description that my machine, while simplein construction, has advantages of beingadjustable for various sizes ofenvelopes; of feeding such envelopes very rapidly from the supplythereof; of controlling the withdrawal so that only one envelope iswithdrawn, and of feeding only such envelopes as are properly placed inthe magazine. I have referred to the use of the feeding mechanism inconjunction with address-printing machines, but it is to be understoodthat the present invention is independent of the mechanism which acts onthe fed envelopes and'may be advantageously employed where thesubsequent treatment of the envelope is other than printing an addressthereon.

I claim:

1. In an envelope feeding device, the combination of pivoted meansadapted to swing toward the ends of an envelope to engage the envelopebetween its flap and the ad- I gaged.

jacent face, means for moving said engaging means intoand out-ofengagingpositiomand means for moving said engaging means in anotherdirection to feed the envelope en- 2. In an envelope feeding device, thecom-= bination with a stack of envelopes of means adapted to engage theendmost envelope be tween its flap and the adjacent face, means formoving saidengaging means from a-position beyond the end of the envelopeinto engaging position, and means for moving said engaging meanstransversely of the. stack to feed the envelope engaged.

3. In an envelope feeding device, thecombination of a pair of pivotedmembersa dapted to engage the envelope between its .fiap and theadjacent face, means for moving each member from a; position beyondtheend. of the envelope into engaging position,.and: means for moving thepair of members as a. unit to feed the envelopeengaged.

4. Intan envelope feeding mechanism, including a bottom feed hopper thecombination of mechanism adapted to engage. the bottom envelope betweenits flap and its ad jacent face, means for moving; said .mechanism froma position beyond the end of the envelope intoengaging position,andmeans for givingit a rotary movement while. engaged to feed; theenvelope.

5. In an envelope feeding mechanism, in cluding a bottom feed hopper thecombina tion ofmechanism adapted to engage thebottom envelope betweenitsflap and its adjacent face, means for giving. it a rotary movement whileengagedto feed the. envelope, and means for giving it another movementtoward the ends of'the envelope while rotating to cause it toengagethe.envelope.

6. In an envelope feeding". mechanism, including a gravity feed hopperthe combination of a member adapted to ,engagethe bottom envelopebetween its flap andaits, adjacent' face, means for moving said: memberfrom beyond the end of the envelope into engagingposition, and means forrevolving. said member while engaged'to feed. the envelope along acircu'lar path.

7. In an envelopefeeding -mechanism, a.

hopper for maintaining the envelopes in a superimposed stack thecombination of a pair of fingers, means for moving them relative to eachother'to engagethe bottom envelope between its flap and its adjacentface, means for causing the fingers. to travel with the engagedenvelope, and means for thereafter withdrawing the fingers from the en.-velope.

8. In an envelope feeding mechanismgthe combination of a pair offingers, means for swinging'them about individualaxes to engage theenvelope between its flap and its. adjacent face, means for causing theengaged fingers 'to travel as a unit to feed the:

,engaged envelope, and means for thereafter withdrawing the fingers fromthe envelope. 9. In an envelope feeding mechanism, the

combination of a pair of pivoted fingers, means for moving them towardeach other to engage an interposed envelope between its flap and itsadjacent face, means for causing the fingers to rotate together about .acommon axis to feed the engaged envelope,

and means for thereafter moving the fingers apart to free the envelope.

10. The combination, with a rotary platen, of members pivoted on an axisarranged at an angle to the axis of the platen and adaptthe platen.

11. The combination with a rotary platen of members pivoted on an axisarranged at an angle to the axis of the platen and adapted to engage anenvelope between its flap and adjacent face to feed the envelope withthe platen, and mechanism for giving said means another movement toengage the envelope. Y.

12. The combination with a rotary platen of a pair of pivoted membersrotating therewith and located at opposite ends thereof,

and means, for moving said members toward the ends of'theplaten duringtheir said rotation to cause them to engage the envelopebetween its flapand adjacent face to feed the envelope with the platen.

13. The combination, with a rotary platen, of rotary means adapted toengage an envelope betweenits flap and adjacent faceto feed the envelopewith the platen, and means for swinging said rotary means about an axisarranged at an angle to that of its feeding rotation, whereby it mayengage the envelope.

14. The combination of a rotary platen, a printing platen and a pair ofenvelope feeding fingers at the opposite ends of the platen, means formoving said fingers toward and from each other to engage andv clear theenvelope between its flap and adjacent face, and means for rotating thefingers with the platen during the time they are in engagement with theenvelope.

15. The combination of a rotary platen, a rotary shaft on which it ismounted, a device, including members movable relative to each othermovably mounted on said shaft but rotating therewith and adapted toengage an envelope between its flap and adjacent face to feed: theenvelope with the platen, and mechanism for moving said device relativeto the shaft to cause it to engage the envelope.

16. The combination of a rotary shaft, a rotary platen thereon, aprinting platen cooperating therewith, -a pair of envelopefeedingfingers movably mounted on the shaft at the opposite ends of the platen,

means for moving said fingers relatively to,

the shaft and toward and from each other "to engage and clear theenvelope between its flap and adjacent face, and means whereby the shaftrotatesthe fingers and platen torotation about the axis of theplaten. edto engage an envelope between its flap and adjacent face to feed theenvelope with 18, The combination of a rotary platen, a rotating shafton which it is moved, a pair of envelope-feeding'fingers on theshaft andlocated at opposite ends of the platen respectively, means for movingsaid fingers relative to the shaft toward each other to en age theenvelope between its flap and ad acent face, means whereby the shaft mayrotate the engaged fingers as a unit with the platen to feed theenvelope, means for moving the fingers apart to withdraw them from theenvelope, all of said movements of the fingers taking place while theshaft is rotating and a second platen coacting with said first platen.

- 19. The combination with a rotary platen of a pair of envelope-feedingfingers adapted to travel concentrically-with the platen means forgivingsaid fingers another movement relative to each other to cause them tomove toward the end of the envelope to engage the same and a secondplaten coacting with the platen first mentioned. ,v

20. The combinationwith a rotary platen of a pair of envelope-feedingfingers adapted. to travel concentrically with the platen,

and means for giving said fingers relative movement. about other axes tocause them to move toward the end of the envelope to engage the same anda second platen coacting] with the platen firstmentioned.

21. The combination, with an envelope magazine adapted to feed envelopesfrom the bottom thereof, of an adjacent'rotary platen, a pair ofenvelope-feeding fingers at opposite ends of theplaten, mechanism forcontinuously rotating the platen and continuously rotating the fingersabout the same axis, andmechanism-for causing said fingers to approacheach other and recede from each other during the said rotation, wherebythey may engage the bottom envelope between its flap and adjacent faceand then draw said envelope along with them in acurved path andthereafter clear the, envelope. v

22. The combination of a rotatable platen shaft, a platen fixed thereto,an envelop magazine adjacent said platen, two ..feed arms which arerespectivelylocate at oppo site ends of said platen andmounted on.saidshaft and project at substantial right angles to said shaft, eachof said arms having at its end a "feed finger, and means for swingingsaid ffeed fingers toward the ends of the envelope as the shaft rotates.

The'com'bination of'arotatable platen shaft, "a platen fixed thereto, anenvelop magazine adjacent said platen, two feed arms each of which ispivotedto said shaft on an axis substantially at right angles to theshaft andeach of said levers having at its end a 'feed finger, and meansfor rocking said feed levers on their pivots as the shaft rotates. I I b'24. The combination, with arotary platen,

H of rotary means adapted to move toward the'endsof an envelope toengage the, same I between its flap and adjacent face to feed theenvelope with the platen, and a fixed cam adapted to act'on said rotarymeans to -cause itto engage the envelope. s

25. The combination with a rotary platen, oflalpair of pivotedindividually movable envelopefeeding fingersadapted to travelconcentrically with the platen, a pair of :cams for giving. said fingersmovement longitudinally of "the platen to cause them to,

move into engagement with the envelope, and means forrotating thefingers and platen together. 1

26. The combinationof a pair of rotary shafts, platens thereon, a pairof envelope- .feeding fingers at opposite ends of one platen, carried byone shaft and-adapted to rotate with it, and a pair of fixed cams movingsaid fingers toward and from each w other during their rotation abouttheaxis of the last mentioned platen. g a .27. The combination of arotatable platen shaft, a plat-en thereon, two feed arms which ,arerespectively located at opposite ends of" said platen and are pivoted,to said shaft on axes which are at substantial right angles to saidshaft-, each of said arms having a feed finger, anda fixed' cam which isassociated with and engages each feed arm and \causes'it to rock on itspivot, substantially as specified,as said shaft rotates,

28, The combination of a feed magazine,

, ia r'otatable'platen located'below the same, a

shaft to which said platen is secured, feed arms located at oppositeends of said platen and respectively gpivotedfto said shaft'on axeswhicharesubst'ant-ially at right angles to thelshaft each of said arms havingat its endian offset feed finger, two cams which loosely embrace thesaid shaft adjacent said ffeed arms, means which prevent the rotation ofsaid cams but permit their longitu-' dinal movement upon-saidishaftnieans to i preserve the engagement of said cam, respectively with theadjacent feed arms. 7

' 29. The combination of a feedmagaziim comprising a fixe'd front plateandtwo Tear with the platen and engage between theflap "cornerjmembers,a sliding'frame on which said corner members are mounted which frame ismovable toward and from the fixed plate and said corner members beingmovable on said frame toward and from each otherand each of saidcornermembers having at its lower end an envelop supporting bottom, arotatable platen located below said magazine, and mechanism adapted torotate 7 5 andvadjacent face of the bottom envelope in the magazine.

30'. The combination of afeed magazine, comprising a fixed front plateand 'two'rear corner members, a sliding frame on which said cornermembers are mounted which frame is movable toward and f'rom'the fixedplate and said corner'mem'bers being movable on said frame toward andfrom "each other and each of said corner members having at its lower endan "envelop supporting bottom, a rotatable platen located below saidmagazine, a shaft to which said platen is secured, two cams whichloosely embrace the said shaft, envelope feeding devices op erated bysaid cams, means which prevent the' rotation of said cams but permittheir ,lOllgl'tUdlllfi-l movement upon said shaft, means to preservethe, engagement of said cams respectively withthexadj acent envelopefeeding device, and connections between said cams respectively andthetwo corner membersof the magazine to require that when a cam is movedlongitudinally with respect to the shaft the corresponding corner membershall be similarly moved.

The, combination of a feed magazine coiioprising a fixed front plate andtwo rear corner members, a sliding frame on which 'saidcorner membersare mounted which frame is movable toward" and from the "fixed plate andsaid corner *members beingfmovable on said frame toward and from eachother and each of said corner plateshaving at itslower endan envelopsupporting bot tom, a rotatable platen located below 'said hopper, ashaft to which said platenis secured',-fe.eding mechanismlocated atopposite ends of saidplaten and comprisinglfeeding v fingers andtwo camswhich loosely embrace the said shaft, means which "prevent theroitationtof said cams but perniit their longitudinal movement upon saidshaft, meansto preserve the engagement of said cams respectively withthe adjacent feeding -mem- 12 0 hers, and toggles which connect the twomagazine'corner members with the twocamsre- 'spectiv'ely.

32 111 an address printing machine, the combination-of an envelopmagazine, the

Fbottom of-which does-not extend beneaththe flaps of the envelopssupported thereon, an

a-djacently {placed rotatable platen,- agrotatable shaft'towhiichsaitlplaten is secured "envelopfeedmg arms, "each "ofwliichisc'arried' by said shaft and extends in opposite directions therefrom,each of said arms having at each of its ends a finger which extendstoward the platen, and non-rotatable cams which surround said shaft,there being PIOVlSlOIl for enabling the cams to rock pivoted' arms androck them on their pivots.

surround said shaft and adapted to cause the rocking of the feedingdevice into or out of feeding position and means for so connecting saidsleeves and cams that any movement of a sleeve lengthwise of the shaftis accompanied by a corresponding movement of th'e'associated cam.

34. In an address printing machine, the

combination of arotatable platen, a rotatable shaft to which saidplatenis secured,

a transversely extended horizontal frame member, a pair of hangersslidably mounted upon said frame member, adjacent opposite ends of saidplaten, two envelop magazine members respectively connected with saidhanger, said hangers having holes through which the platen shaft passesand being formed with cams which extend around said shaft, sleeves whichembrace said'shaft and have tongue and groove connections therewith,means connecting each of said sleeves and an associated hanger wherebymovement of the hanger lengthwise of said platen haft will beaccompanied by a like movement of the sleeve, and'feeding devices posi-rtioned by said sleeves.

In an address printing machine, the combination of a rotatable platen, arotatable shaft to which said platen is secured, sleeves having tongueand groove connections with said shaft and lying adjacent opposite endsof said platen, envelop feeding arms each of which is carried by one ofsaid sleeves, each arm having adjacent its end a finger which extendstoward the platen,

non-rotatable cams which surround said shaft and act to rock the fingersas said shaft is rotated, means for so connecting said sleeves and camsthat any movement of a sleeve lengthwise of the platen shaft isaccompanied by a corresponding movement of the associated cam, and amagazine having two independently movable rear corner members each ofwhich is connected with one of said cams whereby a movement of the camlengthwise of the platen shaft requires a corresponding movement of themagazine member with which it is connected.

36. .The combination of a rotatable platen, an envelop magazine which islocated above the platen and has a vertical front plate whose lower edgeis a short distance above the surface of said platen and is slightly inadvance of a vertical plane passing through the axis of said platen saidmagazine also having two rear-corner members each of which carries anenvelop supporting bottom plate located in a plane approximatelytangential to the upper point of the platen, a stop finger fixed to thefront plate of said magazine extending therefrom toward the platen andto a point in a horizontal'plane which is below the top of said platen,feeding mechanism adapted to insert itself between the lower envelop andits fiapand to draw said envelop out of'the magazine under the frontplate thereof and under the stop finger, the lower edge of said stopfinger however'being in a plane such that if two envelope besimultaneously drawn out of the hopper beneath the front platethereofthe advancing'edge of the upper envelop will engage said stop finger.37. "The combination of a rotary shaft, a platen thereon, a pair of armsat opposite ends of the platen, each intermediately carried by saidshaft and adapted to rotate with it, envelop feeding fingers attheopposite ends of said "arms, and means for moving said fingers towardand from each other during their rotation about the axis of the platen.38. The combination, with? rotary platen,

two pairs of envelope feeding fingers at opposite ends of the platenrespectively, single means for moving fingers of one'pair toward eachother to engage the envelope between its flap and adjacent face and atthe same time fingers of the other pair away i from each other to clearthe envelope, and

means for rotating the engaged fingers as a unit with the platen to feedthe envelope;

39. The combination of a rotary shaft, a

platen thereon, a pair of arms carried by the shaft and longitudinallyshiftable thereon, envelope feeding fingers at the endsof said arms,said arms and fingers being adapted 'to rotate with said shaft, meansfor moving said fingers toward and from each other during their rotationabout the axis of the platen, an envelope magazine having a bottom feed,said magazine being extensible in a direction parallel with said shaft.

40. The'combination with bottom feed envelope magazine of adjacentrotary'platen, a pair of envelope feeding fingers at opposite ends ofsaid platen, mechanism for continuously rotating the platen andcontinuously rotating the fingers about thesame axis, stationary camsfor causing said fingers magazine adjacent said platen, two feed armswhichare respectively located at opposite ends ofsaid platen and are pvoted ,:to

saidrshaft oneaxeswhich are at substantial I right :angles to saidshaft, each of said -a'rms having at its endan offset feed finger,

-a nd means for rocking said ifeed arms on their pivots as the shaftrotates substantially as and for the purpose specified.

The combination of a rotatable platen shaft, lanplaten fixed thereto, anenvelop magazine adjacent said platen, two feed Iarmseach of which nearits middle is pivot- .fidrtO said shaft on an axis substantially atright angles to the shaft and each ofsaid levers having .at :itscends anoffset feed- ;finger, and means for ,rocking said feed lev-.ers'onztheir pivots as theshaft rotates substantially as and for thepurpose specified.

.43. The combination ofa rotatable platen shaft, a platen fi-xedthereto, an envelop .magazine adjacent said platen, two feed.

arms which are respectively located at op.- vposite ends of said-platenand are pivoted to said shaft on axes which are at'substantial:rightanglesgto said shaft each of said arms having at its ends anoffset feed finger, a fixed cam which isassociated with and engages eachfeed arm and causes it to rock on its pivot, substantially as specified,as. said shaft'rotates.

l 44:. The combinationof a feed magazine, comprising aifixed front plateand two rear corner members, .a sliding frame on which said cornermembers are -mounted which frame is movahle toward and from the 'fixedplate and said corner members being movable :on said, frame toward andfrom each otherandeach of said corner -members havingat its lower end anenvelop supporting bottom, a rotatablezplatenlocated below sa1d-magazine,.a shaft to which said platen is secured, feed arms located atopposite ends of said platen .and respectively pivoted to said shaft -onaxes which are substantially at wright angles to the'shaft each of saidarms havingat'its end an offset feed finger, two

cams which loosely embrace the said shaft adjacent said ifeed arms,means which prevent the .rotation of said cams but permit theirlongitudinal movement upon said shaft, means to preserve :theengagementof said ram: respectively with the adjacent feed sarms andronnectionsbetweensaid cams reframe is movable toward-and from the fixed plateand-said corner members being movable on sa1d frame toward and from eachother and each of said corner plates having a at its lower end anenvelop supportingbottom, arotatable platen located below said-.magazine, a shaft to which said platen is-,-s ecured, feedarms located.atropposlte ends of said platen and respectively pivoted .to said shafton axes which 'aresubstantially at right anglestoithe shaft,eachof.sai,d arms having at its end an offset feed finger, two

cams whichloosely embrace the said shaft adjacent said feed arms, meanswhich prevent the rotation of said cams but permit their longitudinalmovement upon said shaft, means to preserve the engagement of said camsrespectively with {the adjacent feed "arms, and toggles which connect;the

#two magazine corner members with the ,two

cams respectively.

,46. Inan address printing machine, the

combination of an envelop magazine jwhose bottom does :notextend-beneath the flaps .of the envelops supported ithereon, anadjacently placed rotatable platen, a rotatableshaft to which saidplaten is secured, sleeves having ltongue and groove connections with csaid shaft and lying adjacent opposite ends of said platemenvelopfeeding arms each of which is pivoted to oneof saidvsleeveson an axiswhich 1s transverse withres pect to sa1d sleeve seach of said armshaving at eachof its ends afinger which extends toward the platen, and.nonrotatable cams vwhichssurround said shaft and engage said ,pivotedarms and rock them ontheir pivots.

47. E111 an address printing i machine, the

combination of an envelop magazine whose bottom does not extend beneaththe flapsof the envelop supported thereon, an adjacently placedrotatableplaten a rotatable shaft to which said platen is secured,sleeveshaving tongue and groove connections with said shaft and lyingadj acent opposite ends .of

said platen, envelop feeding arms.each,of

whichextends onoppositesides of said shaft and .is pivoted -tooneof said.sleeves .onan axis which is diametrical. with respect to said-shafteach of said {arms .having at,each

of its ends an offset finger, :non-rotatable, cams which surroundsaidshaftand engage said .pivoted arms and rock themon {their pivots,and means for so-connecting said sleeves and cams that any movement (of.a.

sleeve lengthwise of the shaft is accompanied by a correspondingmovement of the associated cam.

48. In an address printing machine, the combination of a rotatableplaten, a rotatable shaft to which said platen is secured, atransversely extended horizontal frame member, apair of hangers slidablymounted upon said frame member adjacent opposite ends of said platen,two envelop magazine members respectively connected with said hanger,said hangers having holes through which the platen shaft passes andbeing formed with cams which extend around said shaft, sleeves whichembrace said shaft and have tongue and groove connections therewith,means connecting each of said sleeves and an associated hanger wherebyany movement of the hanger lengthwise of said platen shaft will beaccompanied by a like movement of the sleeve, and feed arms pivotedrespectively to said sleeves on axes which are transverse to saidsleeves each of said arms being adapted to be engaged by the adjacentlyplaced cam, and each arm having at both of its ends an offset feedfinger which extends toward the platen and is adapted in certainpositions of the arm to which it is fixed to pass between the flap andbody of the lowermost envelop in said magazine.

49. In an address printing machine, the combination of a rotatableplaten, a rotatable shaft to which said platen is secured, sleeveshaving tongue and groove connections with said shaft and lying adjacentopposite ends of said platen, envelop feeding arms each of which ispivoted to one of said sleeves on an axis which is diametrical withrespect to said shaft each arm having adj acent its end a finger whichextends toward the platen, non-rotatable cams which surround said shaftand engage said pivoted arms and rocli them on their pivots as saidshaft is rotated, means for so connecting said sleeves and cams that anymovement of a sleeve lengthwise of the platen shaft is accompanied by acorresponding movement of the associated cam, and a magazine having twoindependently movable rear corner members each of which is connectedwith one of said cams whereby a movement of the cam lengthwise of theplaten shaft requires a corresponding movement of the magazine memberwith which it is connected.

50. The combination of a rotatable platen shaft, a cylindrical latenfixed thereon, an envelop magazine which is located above the laten andhas a vertical front plate whose ower edge is a short distance above thesurface of said platen and is slightly in ad vance of a vertical planepassing through the axis of said platen, said magazine also having tworear corner members each of which carries an envelop supporting bottomplate located in a plane approximately tangential to the upper point ofthe platen, a stop finger fixed to the front plate of said magazine andextending therefrom toward the platen and to a point in a horizontalplane which is be low the top of said platen, feed arms carried by saidshaft each having an offsetfeed finger adapted to insert itself betweenthe lower envelop and its flap and to draw said envelop out of themagazine under the front plate thereof and under the stop finger, thelower edge of said stop finger however being in a plane such that if twoenvelops be simultaneously drawn out of the magazine beneath the frontplate thereof the advancing edge of the upper envelop willengage saidstop fin er.

51. T e combination with an extensible envelop magazine, of a rotaryplaten, an adjustable envelope feeding device, and means coupled withthe magazine and the feeding device for insuring corresponding-adjustment of one when the other is adjusted.

52. The combination with an extensible envelop magazine, of a rotaryplaten and feeding mechanism comprising a pair of envelop feedingdevices at opposite ends of the platen, each device being adjustabletoward and from the platen, and means coupled with the magazine and thefeeding mechanism for insuring a corresponding adjustment of one withreference to the other.

53. The combination with an extensible envelop magazine and a rotaryplaten, a rotary shaft on which the same is mounted, a pair of envelopfeeding devices mounted on the shaft to rotate therewith, said devicesbeing adjustable, longitudinally of the shaft, and means coupling themagazine with said devices for insuring correspondence in theiradjustment.

54. In an article feeding machine, a support for articles, means wherebya portion of the endmost article projects beyond the support, and meanscomprising two members movable towards each other and movable toward theends of the article to engage the latter and move it from its support.

55. In an envelope feeding machine, a support for a plurality ofenvelopes, said sup port having an open end whereby the flap of theendmost envelope will project away from the envelope body, and meansincludends of the envelope to engage the fiap of such bottom-mostenvelope and withdraw it from the stack.

57. In anenvelope feeding machine, a support for a stack of envelopes, arotary feeding drum, feeding fingers coacting therewith, and means tomove said fingers towards each other tofirst engagethe back of thebottom-most envelope in said stack and then to move into conveyingposition at the juncture of the flap and body of the envelope.

58. In an envelope feeding machine, a sup port for a stack of envelopes,said support having an open bottom whereby the flap 011 the bottom-mostenvelope may project away from the/envelope body, and envelope movingmeans including members movable towards each other for first engagin thebody of the envelope and then moving against the flap hinge.

59. In an envelope feeding machine, the combination with means forsupporting a stack ofenvelopes, rotary envelope carrying means, a pairof fingers movable towards.

each other for engaging the envelope, and additional means to cause saidfingers to first engage the body of the envelope onthe back thereof andthen to move into engagement with the envelope at the flap hinge.

60. In a machine for feeding envelopes, thecombination of a support fora stack of envelopes, rotary means to advance an envelope, meansincluding members movable towards each other for engaging the'body f theenvelope on the back thereof, said tive to the envelope to engage theflap after which it removes the envelope from said stack.

61. In an envelope feeding machine, the combination with means forsupporting a stack of envelopes, means to advance an envelope, means toengage an envelope, and additional means including two members movabletowards each other to cause said engaging means to be first positionedagainst the body of the envelope onthe backportion thereof and then tomove into engagement with the flap. t

-62. The combination with an envelope feeding machine, a supportfor astack of en velopes, means to advance an envelope, a pair of fingersmovable toward each other for coacting with said advancing means forengaging the envelope,'and additional means to cause said fingers tofirst engage the body of the envelope on-the back portion thereof andthen to move into engagement with the flap.

Signed at Cleveland, Ohio, this 31st day of January, 1920.

CLIFTON OHISHOLM.

last mentioned means being movable rela-

